Bonjour Mes Amis!

See Paris pics here.

So, I always heard that Paris was just a big, dirty city. Well, we completely disagree - we love Paris! As my co-worker from England said in her Brit accent, "There really is something special about it". We went to the City of Lights Nov. 16 - 19 and can't wait to return. We stayed in a studio apartment that we found on a super resourceful website called www.homelidays.com - great deals and full of fun places to stay. Anyways, the apartment was at the top (90 stair hike) of a 17th century building near La Porte Saint-Denis.

There was a metro/bus strike while we were there, a protest of Sarkozy's new plan to reform retirement rules for civil servants, so, we were forced to walk everywhere in the cold, cold Parisian Air. Compared to the warm, blue skies of Madrid, Paris was like Antarctica, seriously cold. However, this gave us the chance to really see the city. We, of course, saw the Louvre, Eiffel Tower all lit up, Musee d'Orsay, Norte Dame and St. Chappelle. The food in France was so great - we loved every minute of it: cafe au lait, patisseries, fromage, et vin - amazing (especially compared to Spanish food, which is not our favorite so far). Tim's life is now complete too after enjoying the beloved, un croque-monsieur, a meal he had a dreamed about since middle school French class.

Paris is lined with quintessential cafes and outdoor flower shops. And the people really do ride around on their bikes with a basket loaded up with bread and a bouquet of flowers! I know - I saw it! If you get the chance to go to Paris - go! But be prepared to spend an arm and a leg. It's incredibly expensive!

See Paris pics here.
P.S. We've commented on the pictures. Click the (i) on the first picture in the slideshow to read them.

Torre Eiffel (en espanol) - it was pretty sweet to see and a lot larger in real life.

In front of The Louvre (remember the scene from DaVinci Code?)

Flower market (they had fresia, berries and kale!)

Our Camera and the North

It's been a month since our last entry and there is plenty to talk about. First and foremost, there are pictures from our last entry about El Escorial and the beautiful vineyard we went to, to harvest grapes and taste wine. Crush them grapes! See those pics here.

In wondering about the Spanish ability to stay up late and rally the following morning for work, we learned some interesting facts. Although on the surface it appears that this beast never sleeps, we found out that it does, in fact, rest during working hours. Supposedly, Spain's workforce has the greatest number of working hours in Europe but has the lowest productivity, go figure! Now I understand. As a teacher of English, my classes are full of these slackers, showing up late, talking the class away with their friends, and often playing hooky. To make my job easier, Spain has a number of four day weekends they call a puente (bridge). Many holidays are on Thursdays and the mentality is "well, we had Thursday off, we mine as well take Friday off too!" Hence the puente from Thursday to the weekend. All that to say, Cor and I have had a chance to travel a fair amount because of this.

In early November we travelled from Madrid an hour or so to Toledo. As a former capital of the Spanish empire, it had many historical sites, but was most interesting due to it's coexisting Christian, Jewish, and Moorish cultures and the influence it had on the architecture. Thanks to Delta, though, we don't have many pics, just me playing with a sword, Cor's favorite marzipan snacks, and some new friends of ours from Arkansas, Chris and Melissa. (see those pics here)

We also made it to the Spanish provinces of Austurias and Cantabria in the north. For this adventure, we traveled with our French made Renault Megane, diesel, six-speed. Let's just say this road hog went 900 km on 50 liters of gas. You do the math and then go buy a Volkswagen TDI. Amazing gas mileage. We were equally impressed with the Picos de Europa on our way north. The Picos are an impressive mountain range near the coast. They brought us back to our Coloradoan roots...cool air, fall colors, down jackets, and hats. Fall was in full effect and so were the crowds. I think because of the puente, people headed for the hills for a holiday to see the beautiful colors. A two hour drive from the Picos we made it to the Cantabrian Sea and the coastal towns of Llanes and Poo. Yes Poo! We came prepared to camp and put up our little tent overlooking one of the many coves at a campground. Camping is definitely popular here but more in the context of car camping, manicured campsites placed over a large area by the hundreds. So needless to say, we had a few neighbors. It was still tons of fun and cheaper than staying at hotel. Llanes also treated us to some great cheese and cider houses. I can't really explain their cider-drinking traditions because I don't understand the whys, but it was pretty dang funny. Picture one hand holding the cider bottle at arms length above your head, the other hand holding the glass at arms length around your waist trying to match where the cider is falling. You want to create as many bubbles as you can in the glass and then drink all that is in the glass except for a small backwash portion that you just pour out on the floor. It sure was fun. We saw some interesting art from a local artist out on a pier in the form of 8-foot by 8-foot blocks of crumbled cement and moseyed around on the sand in the numerous, beautiful coves. We headed back to Madrid only to stop for the night in Salamanca. We didn't have much time here but did get to watch Barcelona beat up on Lazzio in a soccer match. Sooner or later we will get to a live game. Other adventures ensued in Novemeber but we'll write that in the next entry. Hopefully in the next few days. Talk to y'all soon.

pics of the north (here)

p.s. Pics were taken with a disposable, but good news, we have accessories for our digital camera now and will be uploading better pictures soon!

T*C